urge parliamentary scrutiny of the state within a state of the Khakis, especially the dreaded spy agency (DGFI). The interference of the Khakis into state politics will once again jeopardize institutionalization of elective democracy, good governance and secularism. The rogues fear social justice activists, critics, politicians and journalists too - Joy Manush!

Monday, March 04, 2013

Bangladesh: Backlash of Islamist protesting war crimes trial

Photo: Candle light vigil in memory of those dead for the cause of independence

S. BINODKUMAR SINGH

On February 28, 2013,
at least 40 persons, including 17 cadres of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its
student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), 18
civilians and five Security Force (SF) personnel died, when JeI-ICS cadres
clashed with law enforcers across the country. Of the 15 Districts in which
incidents of killing were reported, Rangpur witnessed 7, followed by Gaibandha
(6), Satkhira (5), Thakurgaon and Chittagong (4 each). More than
2,000 people were also injured in the clashes.

Earlier in the day,
the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), constituted on March 25, 2010, and
conducting the War Crimes Trials, in its first verdict, awarded the death
sentence to JeInayeb-e-ameer(deputy chief) Delwar Hossain
Sayedee for War Crimes (WC) committed during the course of the 1971 Liberation
Struggle. Sayedee (indicted on October 3, 2011) was given the death
sentence after eight out of 20charges,
brought against him were held proven. These included murder, abduction,
confinement, torture, rape, persecution, abetment of torture, looting, forceful
religious conversions and setting homes ablaze. For instance, details of charge
number eight indicated that, on May 8, 1971, Sayedee and his accomplices
accompanied by a Pakistan Army unit, raided the house of one Manik Posari at
Chitholia under Pirojpur Sadar and caught his brother Mofizuddin and one
Ibrahim. On the way to the Pakistani Army's camp, Sayedee instigated the
members of the occupation force to kill Ibrahim and dump his body near a
bridge. On the other hand, Mofiz was taken to the Army camp and tortured.
According to charge number 10, on June 2, 1971, Sayedee's armed associates
under his leadership and accompanied by a Pakistan Army unit, burnt 25 houses
of a HinduPara(neighbourhood) in Umedpur village
under Indurkani Police Station. At one stage, a victim, Bisabali, was tied to a
coconut tree and was shot dead by Sayedee's accomplice. In itsjudgmentthe Court noted:

In our due consideration, the gravity
of the offences as listed in charge Nos. 6, 7, 11, 14, 16 and 19 appear to be
lesser than that of as listed in charge Nos.8 and 10. Since we have awarded
Capital Punishment to the accused for the offences as listed in charge Nos. 8
and 10, we refrain from passing any separate sentence of imprisonment for the
offences as listed in the rest charge Nos.6,7,11,14,16 and 19, though those
charges have also been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Welcoming the verdict,
pro-trial protesters termed it a “people’s victory” and marched out in a
celebratory procession in Dhaka
city. People from all walks of life, who had gathered at Shahbagh for 24 days
in what was being described as “Bangladesh’s
Tahrir Square”,
shouted ‘Joy Bangla’, as soon as they heard that the tribunal had sentenced
Sayedee to death. TheShahbag
demonstration began on February 5, 2013, in Dhaka city, after JeI leader Abdul Quader
Mollah had been awarded what was considered a ‘lenient’ sentence of life
imprisonment. The Shahbag demonstrators demanded capital punishment for Mollah
and all others charged for War Crimes before the ICT. Again, on February 21, 2013,
the protestors issued an ultimatum to the Government to bring war crimes charges
against the JeI as a formation, and to initiate legal processes by March 26, 2013,
to ban the party.

Similarly, on February 26, 2013,
the Democratic Left Alliance (DLA), the alliance of eight Left-leaning
political parties, had taken out a procession in Dhaka city, demanding capital punishment for
war criminals. DLA coordinator Zonayed Saki noted “JeI is a communal
organization and not a political party. JeI and ICS cadres are creating anarchy
across the country to foil the ongoing trials of war criminals. They cannot be
forgiven for ransacking Shaheed Minar.” The Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar, a
memorial to the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952, killed by
Pakistani Police Forces, had been vandalized on February 22, 2013.
DLA leader Saiful Huq also declared that the people would not accept the
anarchy of the Islamist parties in the name of religion.

Bangladesh has, in
fact, beenon the
boilsince
January 21, 2013, when the ICT-2, constituted on March 22, 2012, delivered the
first War Crimes verdict against JeI leader Maulana Abul Kalam AzadaliasBachchu Razakar
(indicted on November 4, 2012), awarding a sentence of death (in absentia) for
genocide and crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971. Again,
on February 5, 2013,
ICT-2, awarded life imprisonment to JeI leader Abdul Quader Mollah (indicted on
May 28, 2012)
on WC charges.

According to partial
data collected by the South Asia Terrorism Portal(SATP), the country has
recorded 103 fatalities in street violence since January 21, 2013, including 46
JeI-ICS cadres, 50 civilians and seven SF personnel (all data till March 3). As
many as 4,214 persons, including JeI-ICS cadres, SF personnel and civilians,
have also been injured in at least 74 incidents; and 1,554 JeI-ICS cadres have
been arrested for their involvement in 53 incidents of violence, while
observinghartals(general shut down) across the
country.

Some of the major acts
of violence since January 21 include:March 3: In Bogra
District, at least 10 civilians, including three women, were killed in fierce
fighting between law enforcers and villagers led by JeI-ICS cadres.February 24: Four
civilians were killed and at least 50 persons were injured in clashes between
JeI-ICS cadres and the Police in Singair sub-District, Manikganj District,
during a dawn-to-duskhartal.February 15: Three
JeI-ICS cadres were killed and another 50 were injured during a gun battle
between JeI-ICS cadres and Police in Cox's Bazar town.February 5: In Chittagong District, three
persons, including two ICS cadres, were killed during a clash with Police.
Police arrested 15 ICS cadres from the District.January 31: In Bogra
town of Bogra District, four JeI-ICS cadres were killed in a clash with the
Police.

As SAIR notedearlier,
the Tribunals have indicted 10 high-profile political figures, including eight
JeI leaders and two Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmakers.

The rising cycle of
protests and counter-protests, compounded by escalating violence and threats of
greater violence, have created apprehensions that the situation in Bangladesh,
which had improved on a wide range of parameters over the past years, may once
again hurtle towards instability. The business community – including the
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear
Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) – on February 23, 2013,
expressed their deep concern over frequenthartalcalls and requested the political parties concerned to
call off countrywide daylonghartalsfor the greater interest of the
national economy. The fear of JeI-ICS as well as other radical Islamist
groupings provoking wider destabilization and armed violence, has already
triggered a stream of refugees into India through the
border District of Malda in West Bengal.
Border Security Force (BSF) officials at the Mahadipur (Malda District) Check
Post have stated that they had not seen such an exodus in years. Even Awami League
(AL) members were among those seeking refuge in India.

Evidently, the
Islamist extremist forces under the leadership of the JeI-ICS, have no
intention to give up without a fight. With election due in December 2013, or at
the latest, by mid-January 2014, it is inevitable that a last ditch
confrontation will be sought. Another term for Sheikh Hasina Wajed would leave
little possibility of the survival of the top Islamist extremist leadership in Bangladesh,
most of whom were collaborators and perpetrators in the War Crimes of 1971, and
at least ten among whom are currently arraigned before the ICT. It is
significant that groups such as the Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and the
Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB)
virtually collapsed after their top leaders were sent to the gallows. The
JeI-ICS combine has flourished because of significant state protection under
past regimes, and was, in fact, a coalition partner in the BNP-led Government
that preceded the current AL
led administration. The Islamist right in Bangladesh
has flourished, essentially, under an umbrella of impunity, and it seeks to
restore a regime that would, once again, provide such impunity, recognizing
clearly that this is a race against time.

It is equally evident
that the Sheikh Hasina regime has recognized the imperatives of swift and
determined action. On February 17, 2013, Parliament amended
the ICT Act of 1973, allowing the Government to prosecute organizations along
with individuals for wartime atrocities, thus paving the way for prosecution of
political parties such as JeI. On February 19, 2013,
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu reiterated, "JeI has no right to
carry out their politics as they are opponents of democracy", and urged
the Government to ban JeI-ICS politics and ensures the trial of war criminals.

The Government’s
efforts to de-radicalize Bangladesh,
and to consolidate its secular commitments have already won significant
success, reining in Islamist extremist groups such as JeI, ICS, JMB,
Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), and Hizb-ut-Towhid (HT). The residual capacities of some
of these groups – demonstrated in the street violence of the past weeks – are
clearly significant. There is a danger, moreover, of armed escalation,
potentially backed by foreign terrorist formations.On February 27, 2013,
Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, thus noted,“Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
is active in Bangladesh and law enforcement agencies tracked down their network
and kept them under sharp security vigil. It is the moral and legal obligation
of the Government to uproot them totally."

‘Totally uprooting’
Islamist extremist and terrorist formations in Bangladesh
cannot be an easy task. These groupings and the ideologies of violence and
hatred that they propagate, have been entrenched over decades of implicit or
explicit state complicity – or, minimally, in some phases, tolerance. As the AL led Government gears
up for a final confrontation, it is natural to expect these formations to rally
their fullest forces in a fight that may well be for their very survival. There
are many uncertainties in the present confrontation, but the one certainty is
that there will be a further escalation of violence in Bangladesh
over the coming months, certainly till the next General Elections are
accomplished.